Science and marketing may seem like strange bedfellows, but there’s actually a lot of overlap between the two industries. For one, science doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part and parcel of our society, and interacts with aspects of society in complex ways. In fact, as our previous article on FDA approving the marketing of an AI-based tool for detecting diabetic retinopathy, science needs marketing, too.
Marketing isn’t just based off of gut instinct — a successful campaign is the result of hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of careful research and study. Marketers are trained to analyze behaviors, trends, and maximize tools in order to achieve a result, just as scientists do. The results of these analyses are then used to improve future campaigns and techniques. If you’re curious about just how marketers achieve that, below are only a few of the many ways that marketing and science go hand in hand in the modern world.
Augmented Reality
Businesses wouldn’t have access to the sophisticated marketing tools and tricks that they do today without developments in science and technology. One of the many examples of how science is at the forefront of marketing is augmented reality (AR). Augmented reality makes use of advanced yet accessible tools like mobile phone cameras to create new, immersive marketing experiences.
Virtual objects are superimposed over familiar surroundings like a customer’s home, face, or neighborhood. This then helps customers visualize products in their lives more easily, which benefits businesses as these same customers are more likely to make purchase decisions. AR is so successful at this that a Citi GPS report projects that by 2025, AR’s annual revenues will increase to $692 billion. With a success story like that, this union between science and marketing can only get more exciting.
Direct Mail
Another surprising link between science and marketing can be found in one of the oldest marketing tools around: direct mail. Direct mail marketing is significant because it taps into certain areas of the brain in ways that digital marketing simply doesn’t. According to the Data and Marketing Association, direct mail is effective because touching a mail item positively affects mood, behavior, and spending habits. Like many things in science, direct mail is made more effective when it’s used together with other tools. Leading marketing firm Triadex Services uses direct mail to target new movers in a certain area. And by studying online behavior and location data it allows top tier marketers to pinpoint new residents, and send direct mail to their locations to clinch deals.
Data Analytics
Finally, one of the most visible ways that science and marketing have come together is through data analytics. Just as it does in science, data in marketing is key to understanding consumer behavior, and why campaigns work or don’t work. By analyzing things like number of clicks, length of stay on a website, demographics, and even past purchases, marketers and businesses are more accurately able to structure their campaigns.
Marketing technology website Martech Series says that data analytics is especially important because it helps marketers organize and understand important information. This process of understanding, just like the process of scientific research, allows marketers to turn raw data into valuable insides. And, in much the same way new experiments are built off older ones, these insights become the foundation for future paths in marketing.
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